A communication adapter of a gas turbine engine of an aircraft includes a communication interface configured to wirelessly communicate with an offboard system and to communicate with an engine control of the gas turbine engine. The communication adapter also includes a memory system and processing circuitry configured to receive one or more configuration items from the offboard system, confirm an authentication between the communication adapter and the engine control, apply a cryptographic algorithm using one or more parameters received and cryptographic information to decrypt the one or more configuration items, wherein the cryptographic information includes a combination of received cryptographic information and previously stored cryptographic information, and transfer the one or more configuration items to the engine control based on the authentication.